The Old Ursuline Convent
Posted: 10.07.2024 | Updated: 10.07.2024
Located on Chartres Street in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans sits the Old Ursuline Convent. The convent is over three hundred years old and the oldest surviving structure in New Orleans. It’s also home to multiple ghosts and the site of one of New Orleans' most enduring legends.
In the 18th century, stories of vampires began circulating throughout New Orleans. As these tales developed, the origins of the vampires were traced back to the Old Ursuline Convent. Now, hundreds of years later, stories of vampires and ghosts are engrained into the lore of New Orleans and the Old Ursuline Convent.
Who Are The Casket Girls?
In 1728, New Orleans’ founder, Jean Baptiste LeMoyne de Bienville, asked the King of France to send over young women for the city's male population to marry. At the time, men significantly outnumbered women in New Orleans by roughly four to one. As the story goes, the girls and women who were sent over from France were orphans with no money. All they brought with them were small trunks or “caskets” that contained their personal belongings. This earned them the nickname “filles a la cassette,” which translates in English to “Casket Girls,” and a legend was born.
After the arrival of the Casket Girls, people began finding bodies with their throats ripped open and drained of blood. Depending on which version of the story you believe, it was thought that the Casket Girls were vampires or that they had smuggled vampires in from France using their caskets. In one version of the tale, the nuns opened the caskets to find them completely empty, as if the Casket Girls slept in them.
The legend goes that New Orleans got their vampire problem under control by shuttering the attic windows of the Old Ursuline Convent using 800 silver nails blessed by the pope.
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History of the Old Ursuline Convent
The Ursuline nuns arrived from Rouen, France, in 1727 to help reform the New Orleans population, which had many pirates, murderers, and other criminals among its residents. The nuns were also tasked with caring for the sick and poor and educating the youth of New Orleans.
The original convent was demolished in the 1740s and replaced with the current structure, completed in 1752. The building is made out of brick and stucco in the French neoclassical style. It was deemed the “finest surviving example of French colonial public architecture in the county” by the National Parks Service.
During the War of 1812, the convent acted as an infirmary for wounded soldiers, and many men died on the property. The main courtyard of the building was even used as a makeshift morgue for sorting bodies.
The Ursuline nuns moved out of the building in 1824. Still, it continued to be used by the Catholic Church for various purposes. This included administrative offices and a rectory for St. Mary’s Church. Today, the Old Ursuline Convent is home to an expansive museum featuring historic Catholic artifacts.
Hauntings At the Old Ursuline Convent
Although the Old Ursuline Convent is best known for the Casket Girls, many hauntings and strange activities have been reported over the years. The most persistent ghost sightings are those of the Ursuline nuns, who are often seen walking up and down the original staircase in the convent’s foyer. The ghosts of soldiers from the War of 1812 have also been spotted, which makes sense, considering the convent is where many of them took their final breath. Ghost children have also been heard laughing and even seen playing on the front lawn. Bone fragments belonging to children and infants have also been found on the property. This stands to reason, considering the high child mortality rate in the 18th and 19th centuries.
A few years ago, a tourist visited the Old Ursuline Convent and had an all-around creepy experience. They claimed to hear footsteps in the attic where the Casket Girls were said to have been kept. They also felt that an unseen entity was following them as they made their way through the building. Eager to get outside, the tourist snapped a photo of the convent’s picturesque front lawn. When the photo was developed, it was completely white except for a glowing cross. Despite being a Catholic convent, no cross was on the front lawn.
The Legend of the Casket Girls Continues
Another story circulated around New Orleans regarding the Casket Girls took place in 1978, about 250 years after they arrived from France. It’s said that a pair of ghost hunters set up a camera outside the Old Ursuline Convent to capture footage of vampires escaping from the shuttered attic windows. There were some rumors that the shutters would, at times, burst open, and mist would come out.
The morning after the ghost hunters’ stakeout, their bodies were found outside the convent, drained of 80% of their blood. And footage of the vampires had been destroyed. While in no way verifiable, the story highlights the enduring allure of the Casket Girls and the Old Ursuline Convent.
Haunted New Orleans
While stories of vampires are debatable, the Casket Girls who arrived in New Orleans in 1728 are very much real. The same goes for the soldiers who died in the War of 1812 and the children who lived in the Old Ursuline Convent. Although these individuals died centuries ago, their stories live on, and perhaps so do their ghosts.
Don’t forget to book your ghost tour with NOLA Ghosts and take a step back into the haunted history of New Orleans. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep reading our blog for more real Louisiana hauntings.
Sources:
https://oldursulineconventmuseum.com
https://www.verylocal.com/ursuline-convent-casket-girls/20209
https://www.kmmcfarland.com/nola-vibes/new-orleans-vampires-and-the-ursuline-nuns
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